5/1/95 Gas victims deprived of relief National Mail
6/1/95 Gas victims feel forlorn as medical relief not provided National Mail
13/1/95 Claim directorate refuses medical check up National Mail
22/1/95 Bhopal still sitting on a volcano! Chronicle
15/2/95 Departmental dispute delays hospital building opening National Mail
16/2/95 Separate department for gas victims’ rehabilitation likely National Mail
21/3/95 Keer asks Sir Ian to speed up work for gas victims’ hospital National Mail
21/4/95 Gas affected kids hold demonstration National Mail
13/5/95 New generation will now be unscathed by airborne death National Mail
22/5/95 Sangathan alleges large-scale pilferage in medicine purchase National Mail
23/5/95 Patients remain foodless due to funds shortage National Mail
25/5/95 Gas affected kids sent to Delhi for heart surgery National Mail
27/5/95 Move to close down MIC ward will spell doom for patients
16/6/95 Ray of hope for Bhopal Gas victims Indian Express
21/6/95 Successful heart surgery of gas-affected boy National Mail
25/6/95 Gas victims demonstrate National Mail
30/6/95 Gas-hit children to be treated in Delhi National Mail
27/7/95 Gas hit women, children to demonstrate National Mail
29/8/95 Gas victims to hold demonstration National Mail
12/9/95 New treatment for gas victims claimed National Mail
18/10/95 17 gas affected report daily National Mail
20/10/95 Medicalrehabilitation panel for gas victims welcomed National Mail
28/11/95 3 new hospitals for gas victims soon National Mail
29/11/95 Health camps on anniversary of gas tragedy National Mail
2/12/95 Gas victims still fight diseases The Times of India
2/12/95 SC asks UCC to clear stand on hospital The Pioneer
3/12/95 Massive cover up operations still continuing National Mail
3/12/95 Re-victimization of the gas victims National Mail
7/12/95 Medical camps for gas victims held National Mail

1996

14/1/96 Transparency thy name is Trust National Mail
5/2/96 Gas exposure bane of Bhopal survivors: Report The Pioneer
7/2/96 Union Carbide will not provide more funds for hospital Times of India
9/2/96 UCCL bid to escape hospital fund flayed National Mail
12/2/96 Rs 1.5 cr worth medicines distributed to gas victims National Mail
12.2/96 Gas-hit not getting suitable treatment, says Jabbar National Mail
1/3/96 IMCB role on gas victims questioned Madhya Pradesh Chronicle
4/3/96 Sambhavna Trust plans long-term projects for welfare of gas-hit National Mail
4/3/96 “Verbal Autopsy” for gas-hit mooted Madhya Pradesh Chronicle
28/3/96 Longterm effects of Bhopal gas leak Pioneer
29/3/96 Efforts to improve maintenance of medicines at relief hospitals National Mail
30/9/96 Elderly gas-affected patients to get treatment at home National Mail
30/9/96 Will ban on private practice benefit gas-hit? National Mail
13/10/96 Number of gas patients at govt hospitals on the increase National Mail
14/10/96 Jabbar alleges irregularities in purchase of medicines National Mail
14/11/96 3 more gas-hit kids being sent to Delhi National Mail
25/11/96 New 100-bed hospital for gas victims to be opened National Mail
28/11/96 Aged gas victims to get medical help at doors National Mail
29/11/96 Seminar on medical aspects of Carbide disaster National Mail
30/11/96 Govt urged to oversee hospital building for gas-hit National Mail
2/12/96 Struggling to breath for the 13th year National Mail
3/12/96 The 1984 Union Carbide Toxic-Gas disaster killed 10,000 Village Voice
– /12/96 “I see an opportunity every time a child runs away from home” Times of India
3/12/96 Medical situation still grim, says Sangathan National Mail
6/12/96 Doctors still lack data on Bhopal crisis National Mail
9/12/96 Commission surveys Bhopal medical effects Chemical and Engineering News
12/12/96 Bhopal tragedy: The unpaid human costs of globalization Times of India
16/12/96 Bhopal victims still have nightmares Times of India

“It is unacceptable to allow an American company not only the opportunity to exploit international borders and legal jurisdictions but also the ability to evade civil and criminal liability for environmental pollution and abuses committed overseas.” – Leading Congressman Frank Pallone, Times of India, 18th Oct.

This unequivocal statement announced the Amicus brief that has been filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by Congressman Pallone and eight other US lawmakers on behalf of the Bhopal survivors’ Class Action.

That’s the rotten news for Carbide. Now the unspeakable news for Daddy Dow: the brief urges the Court of Appeals to hold Dow responsible for Bhopal and exposes Dow’s refusal to accept liability for ongoing contamination as legally indefensible: “That [polluter pays] principle, has been affirmed by both international law and American common law and the appropriate means for addressing pollution or environmental harm regardless of where it occurs. That principle cannot be ignored simply because the polluter has abandoned its facility, sold its shares in a subsidy or otherwise effected change of ownership.”

WASHINGTON: Leading Congressman Frank Pallone and eight other US
lawmakers, have filed an amicus brief on behalf of about 20,000 victims of the 1984 Union Carbide chemical disaster in Bhopal.

Pallone, co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian
Americans, and his colleagues have sent the 23-page brief to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It urges the court to hold Dow Chemical, which acquired Union Carbide in 2001, responsible for the world’s biggest environmental disaster.

The brief, initiated by Pallone, comes in response to a March decision by a US District Judge in New York dismissing all claims against Dow Chemical. Victims then appealed to the Second Circuit, said a press release from Pallone’s office.

“There is strong support in Congress for holding those responsible for this horrific tragedy accountable for their actions,” he said. “It is unacceptable to allow an American company not only the opportunity to exploit international borders and legal jurisdictions but also the ability to evade civil and criminal liability for environmental pollution and abuses committed overseas.”

WASHINGTON D.C. TUESDAY 22 JULY Eighteen members of Congress have sent a letter to Dow Chairman William Stavropoulos demanding that his company assume liability for the wrongdoings of Union Carbide (its 100% subsidiary) in Bhopal. The Congresspersons, led by Representatives Frank Pallone and Dennis Kucinich are demanding that Dow provide medical rehabilitation and economic reparations for the victims of the tragedy; clean up contamination in and around the former factory site in Bhopal; provide alternative supplies of fresh water to the affected communities and ensure that the Union Carbide Corporation appears before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Bhopal where it faces criminal charges of culpable homicide.

“The disaster in Bhopal continues and is likely to worsen if Dow Chemical does not step forward to fulfil its responsibilities,” the letter said, adding “It is disheartening to note that a company such as Dow who professes to lead the chemical industry towards ‘responsible care’ shies away from its obligations when truly responsible care can be demonstrated. More disturbing is the manner in which Union Carbide and Dow Chemical have ignored the summons of the Bhopal court. This exposes a blatant disregard for the law.”

On the 24th March Halifax M.P. Alice Mahon filed Early Day Motion 933 in the UK parliament in support of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal’s efforts to make Dow and Union Carbide face up to their moral and legal responsibilities in Bhopal. The motion resolves:

“That this House is appalled by the continuing suffering of the people of Bhopal 18 years after the world’s worst environmental disaster; notes that the contaminated land on the site of the disaster has never been cleaned up, that high quantities of lead and organochlorines continue to be found in the breast milk of local women and that the local population is plagued by ill health and birth deformities; congratulates the work of the Sambhavna medical clinic in treating survivors and that of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal in trying to make Union Carbide and its present owner Dow Chemical face up to their moral and legal responsibilities; and further applauds the campaign for the extradition from the USA of former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, wanted in India on criminal charges of culpable homicide in connection with the deaths of 20,000 people.”

As reported today by the Bhopal Central Chronicle, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, New Indpress PTI News

Full letter here.
For ICJB press statement at https://www.bhopal.net/oldsite/congressletter.html

New Clippings – 1991-1996: The Medical Crisis Continues

1991

EXPOSURE TO MIC CAN CAUSE CANCER: DR PATEL

from National Mail

18/3/91. Dr. Patel reveals that the exposure to MIC gas is a potential danger that could lead to cancer. He said that cancer takes at least 15 to 20 years to take root. In Bhopal the incident of throat, tongue, lungs and cervix cancer was the highest in the country.

THEIR FIGHT FOR JUSTICE HAS NO END

from the Statesman

1/7/91. Women activists demonstrated outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, demanding proper medical care so they can at least do their daily work. A doctor testified to the inefficacy of the medical facilities. It is reported that the ICMR guidelines for treating these victims are not being followed. Doctors did not come to the hospitals and those who come at all are severely overworked and have to see 400 to 500 patients in two hours. They carry out cursory examination and treat the first ailment they discovered. Also, medicines prescribed by the ICMR are not being used. Pressure from large medicine companies to use drugs that are substandard prevent the hospitals from using drugs that are cheap and effective. Of the six lakh people who had applied for medical examination, three lakh remain without one.

GAS VICTIMS SUFER FROM SERIOUS DISEASES

from Free Press

16/12/91. The story claims the gas victims residing in the affected areas were suffering from serious ailments like jaundice, gall bladder stones and blood vomiting. At the same time the hospitals meant for the treatment of gas victims were plagued with unhygienic conditions, chaos and menace of the anti-social elements.

1992

CHEMICAL ‘TAXI’ SPREAD BHOPAL TOXIN

from the Hindu

12/2/92. Chemists in U.S. have proposed a new theory to explain the terrible symptoms that still afflict survivors of the gas disaster. However, they say that if the theory is true it will still not be of any assistance to the survivors because the damage they suffered is irreparable. The lungs of many people who survived became permanently scarred, but what puzzled doctors was the diversity of unexplained symptoms in other organs. Which range from the eyes, heart, bones, muscles and gastrointestinal tract. Thousands have impaired immune systems, and many report reproductive problems while spontaneous abortions remain high.

1993

CONDITION OF GAS-HIT WORSE DURING PRESIDENT’S RULE

from the Free Press

21/6/93. Regarding the mismanagement and corruption prevalent in the gas hospitals attention of the government had fallen on deaf ears. Despite reminders to the government the situation remained the same. Victims were being deprived of medicines and other essential treatment at the hospitals meant for the victims. The hospitals had no treatment for TB and patients were being forced to buy medicines from the market at high price.

1994

HEALTH CARE OF GAS VICTIMS INADEQUATE

from Times of India

22/1/94. The International Medical Commission on Bhopal has observed that the health care system for the Bhopal gas tragedy victims has been inadequate. There is no system of proper follow-up and the treatment has been generally symptomatic. The IMCB condemned the Union Carbide not only for its responsibility for the deadly gas leak, but also for its behavior later.

BHOPAL HEALTH CARE INADEQUATE

from the Hindustan Times

25/1/94. The International Medical Commission says that Bhopal’s hospital-oriented delivery of health care was inappropriate for the chronic nature of problems. The Commission found that most of the data collected by the ICMR and others on the Bhopal experience were not freely available. It recommended an urgent review and full dissemination of such data and further information should be collected, and should include an evaluation of the current and long-term effects on women and children.

PROTEST AGAINST IRREGULARITIES IN HOSPITALS FOR GAS-AFFECTED

from Free Press

6/5/94. Activists held a rally to protest the alleged irregularities in the hospitals. They alleged that facilities were only available to those who pay extra fees to the doctors and visit the doctors at their clinics. They also drew attention to the non-availability of doctors at the hospitals during duty hours. They alleged that the government had turned a blind eye towards the woes of the victims.

BHOPAL STRUCK BY WAVE OF ‘CHEMICAL AIDS’

from the Observer (London)

20/11/94. Ten years after the disaster the daily live of the survivors is still dictated by the tragedy. Hundreds of people suffering from the effects of acute gas poisoning queue daily at the government hospitals. Their symptoms include breathing problems, streaming eyes, ulcers, unstoppable menstrual bleeding, tuberculosis caused by the poison-induced collapse of their immune systems. Survivor’s groups claim the numbers of people coming forward with long-term, gas-induced symptoms have risen substantially in recent years.

DISASTER’S CHILDREN CONDEMNED TO CARRY LIFELONG SCARS

from Business Standard

30/11/94. The story is about the situation in Bhopal a decade later. Victims don’t know what is rotting inside them; they cough, are out of breath easily and eyes burn. Although the complaints of people in queues outside the hospitals continue to increase, government agencies like ICMR have shut down 20 of the 22 gas-related investigations. It also says potentially the most dangerous long-term impact is that of psychological impairment, especially in children. It is also possible that genetic disorders and cancers may manifest themselves later.

10 YEARS LATER, CANCER LOOMS OVER SURVIVORS OF BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY

from Asian Age

1/12/94. Cancer is now the latest threat stalking survivors of the gas disaster. A team appointed by ICMR was still studying the long-term effects of MIC. They said the cancerous effects of the gas would take much longer to unravel.

BHOPAL – THE COVER-UP CONTINUES

from Times of India Sunday Review

4/12/94. The reporter claims that ten years later, medical research into the gas tragedy is shockingly inadequate. There is hardly any authoritative scientific work on the consequences of exposure to MIC. Union Carbide toxicologists may have the best information on MIC but they are treating it like a trade secret. Union Carbide insisted the effects of MIC were short-term only, and limited to the lungs and eyes. But this was patently false.

1995

GAS VICTIMS TO HOLD DEMONSTRATON

from National Mail

29/8/95. Hundreds of gas victims will demonstrate to protest against the inadequate health facilities and present a memorandum to the Chief Minister regarding their long-pending demands. They claim the government has not been able to provide proper treatment for the victims. Rs. six crore were alleged to have been spent on medical stores but it was yet to benefit the victims. Medicines were stolen and sold in the black market but no action had been taken to stop this.

17 GAS AFFECTED REPORT DAILY

from National Mail

18/10/95. A decade after the disaster 17 victims were being admitted daily to more than a dozen hospitals in Bhopal whereas the number of outdoor patients per day had swelled to 4000. Gas relief and rehabilitation minister admitted that the hospitals constructed by the government for the gas victims lack various medical facilities.

GAS VICTIMS STILL FIGHT DISEASES

from the Times of India

2/12/95. One-fourth of the gas victims are chronically ill, with diseases of the respiratory, gastro-intestinal, reproductive, musculoskeletal, neurological and other systems. Corneal opacity and early-age cataract are common, and exposure to the gases has made the people vulnerable to secondary infections and the incidence of tuberculosis is at least four times higher than in an unexposed population. A study by the ICMR says that 10 to 15 people continue to die of exposure-related causes every month in Bhopal.

MASSIVE COVER UP OPERATIONS STILL CONTINUING

from National Mail

3/12/95. Massive cover-up operations are still continuing on behalf of the government, with nobody in position to say how long the people will continue to suffer. The outcome of some of the studies by ICMR, were still being kept secret for some mysterious reasons.

1996

DOCTORS STILL LACK DATA ON BHOPAL CRISIS

from National Mail

6/12/96. Twelve years later doctors lack information on everything from the number of casualties following the disaster to the chemical composition of the gas. More than 50,000 are still suffering according to ICMR and most of them are not being treated any differently than the general population. There was no special recognition on the part of the doctors that the ailments were gas related and have a special protocol for treatment. As a consequence many Bhopalis suffer from the after-effects of the gas leak but are prescribed the same treatments as patients who are suffering from normal ailments.

BHOPAL LIVES

from the Village Voice

3/12/96. This story is about the release of the report from the International Medical Commission, twelve years after the disaster. The commission found that up to 50,000 survivors were suffering from partial or total disability. In addition to the widely recognized lung and eye injuries, the report details medical conditions that have never been identified before, such as neurotoxicological effects and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

BHOPAL VICTIMS STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES

from Times of India

16/12/96. The survivors of the gas disaster are suffering from long-term neurotoxicology according to the International Medical Commission. Also, there is a stigma in being a gas victim. Women told the commission about miscarriages, inability to lift loads, breathlessness, poor vision, red and white discharge, bleeding from the nose and children with weakness, blotches on the skin and other malformations, and medicines are not effective beyond a few days.

News Clippings – 1984-1990: The Unfolding Medical Disaster

1984

MORE DEATHS LIKELY IN BHOPAL: US EXPERTS

from the Times of India

6/12/84. American toxicology experts believe that many more people in Bhopal may die of the secondary effects of the poisonous gas MIC. These experts say that the people who have survived so far could die as a result of ordinary respiratory infection because their lung tissues are damaged by the gas.

PEOPLE EXPOSED TO MIC MAY SUFFER NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

from the Patriot

9/12/84. The report is about the possibility of behavioral disorders and chronic nervous disease. According to neurotoxicologists people who were exposed to the poisonous MIC gas might suffer from neurological disorders.

GAS VICTIMS HAVING BREATHING TROUBLE, BURNING FEELING IN EYES

from the Patriot

12/12/84. General weakness, recurrent respiratory and breathing trouble, and a burning sensation in the eyes, were the most common complaints of the people who had been discharged from hospitals. At Hamidia Hospital there was no oxygen because of the rush of patients and people were asked to wash their eyes and return home.

RELIEF WORK INADEQUATE

from Economic Times

13/12/84. This report claims that the state is not able to cope with the problems the gas leak has created. There are complaints about lack of medicine and non-attendance by doctors. The affected people are using various methods to voice their resentment and protesting the non-availability of medical assistance. The reporter goes into the affected neighborhoods where almost everybody is coughing constantly, having pain and irritation in chest and experiencing lack of vision. These people are in no condition to get out of bed and are hardly eating anything. Young men are trying to get the attention of the higher authorities to get necessary and adequate medical help.

1985

DISABLING AND INCURABLE AILMENTS STILL AFFLICT THOUSANDS IN BHOPAL

from the New York Times

29/3/85. The story claims that thousands of people are suffering from incurable problems with breathing, sleeping, digesting food and performing even light physical labor. Problems in counting the injured, confusion, inefficiency and haphazard record-keeping are plaguing the medical relief system. Experts said there was random or casual prescribing of painkillers, sedatives, antacid tablets and many other drugs, some of them potentially harmful. Patients complain that the pills give them no relief and a doctor acknowledged that victims were going from one hospital or clinic to another in a desperate search for cures that did not exist. He said there were no treatments available that would improve their symptoms.

NEUROSIS AFFLICTS BHOPAL GAS VICTIMS

from Indian Express

3/16/85. Every fourth MIC patient is suffering from mental disorder. A survey by a mental health team work confirmed that delayed psychological effects are likely to occur.

POLICE DEMOLISH CLINIC, HAND RECORDS TO CARBIDE

from the Patriot

27/6/85. The police raided the clinic run by People’s Health Centre and handed over all medical records of MIC patients to Union Carbide. The clinic was set up for administering sodium thiosulphate injections to MIC patients. The People Health Centre strongly protested against the demolition of the clinic.

A YEAR LATER, HEALTH OF MANY IN BHOPAL STILL IN QUESTION

from the Observer

1/12/85. Medical studies conducted in the year since the chemical leak at the plant indicate that the chemical responsible for the accident causes serious long-term health problems. Medical experts also say that the clinical evidence compiled show that the deaths and injuries were not solely caused by MIC, instead they assert some MIC had been broken down into hydrogen cyanide before the toxic material escaped from the storage tank.

1986

MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR GAS-HIT WOMEN SOUGHT

from Free Press

6/12/86. At a press conference doctors stressed that timely medical treatment for women, particularly pregnant was essential. They said the gas seemed to have affected women the most. There were complaints of various ailments, including stoppage of child movement in wombs. Apart from still births they had also seen deformed children being born due to the effects of the gas.

LUNG DAMAGE TO GAS VICTIMS LONG-TERM

from Times of India

6/9/86. Studies prove that MIC-induced lung disease has a long-term course. Studies carried out by a team of doctors show that MIC has restricted the functioning of the lungs of the affected persons and caused secondary psychiatric abnormalities.

POINTLESS ARRESTS

from Indian Express

13/9/86. The Madhya Pradesh arrested two voluntary workers, once again demonstrating its complete intolerance towards any legitimate questioning of its relief efforts for the gas-affected victims. The two men were found taking notes and taping a meeting of government doctors which had been announced in the press and thus was not a secret or closed-door meeting.

BERGMAN, 2 OTHERS BEING ‘HARASSED’

from Times of India

17/9/86. This is one of many stories in 1986 about the government’s harassment and persecution against relief workers and volunteers opposed to Union Carbide. It’s about the framing up of three relief workers under the “absurd” charge of violation of Official Secrets Act. One of the accused cycled from England to raise money for the gas victims and decided to stay on to help children. He was now being labeled as a spy. Two others who write for a monthly newspaper “Bhopal” had been accused of “illegally trespassing” and recording the meeting of Indian Council of Medical Research with local doctors to discuss the mode of treatment for the gas victims. Thirty one relief workers from different parts of the country had been charged under various offences.

1987

OXYGEN HUNGER – MAIN CAUSE OF GAS VICTIMS’ TROUBLES

from Dainak Bhaskar

27/4/87. Scientists claim that the damaged lungs of the victims have made them respiratory cripples. Also a study on schoolchildren finds that the gas tragedy has left them suffering with a number of physiological, neurological and psychological problems. The ailments included breathlessness, uneasiness, chest pain, loss of appetite, headache, body ache, loss of muscular coordination, blood pressure, palpitation, confused thinking, loss of ambition, emotional attacks, loss of memory and working capacity, and among girls there was disturbance in the menstrual cycle.

NO SOPS FOR HAPLESS CARBIDE VICTIMS

from Dainik Bhaskar

14/8/87. The report claims that the victims of the gas leak are practically without any assistance from either the Government or Union Carbide. The doctors and lawyers who were once engaged in helping the victims find little time for them now. The Government admits delay in relief work.

PANEL FEARS PRESENCE OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN VICTIMS

from the Patriot

28/8/87. The Supreme Court Committee for the Bhopal gas victims apprehends the presence of toxic substances in gas-affected people. There is evidence of MIC entering the blood stream, generating antibodies and disturbing the immune system. Another alarming feature is the Pregnancy Outcome Study which has established that the spontaneous abortion rate has increased four-fold, and that the toxins present in gas-exposed women were causing damage to the fetus.

1988

BHOPAL VICTIMS STILL SUFFERING

from the Hindustan Times

30/11/88. Four years later the effects of MIC are still evident on the victims, with the fact that the death rate was shot up alarmingly. Thousands of people are still seen waiting in queues at the hospitals with symptoms like breathlessness, loss of appetite, persistent cough, pain in abdomen and considerable weaknesses. Also, what was not perceptible at first is the traumatic effect on the minds of the affected people now suffering from mental derangement, anxiety and depression.

GENERAL HEALTH DECLINES

from Madhya Pradesh Chronicle

3/12/88. The general health status of the gas victims has declined further in comparison to the last four years. A doctor claims that the MIC has now “set in” among the victims, causing a continuous deterioration in the health of severely gas hit people.

AFTER THE DISASTER

from Madhya Pradesh Chronicle

3/12/88. A study by ICMR shows that the overall infection rate in the babies who were delivered by the women who were pregnant in the areas which were badly hit due to the gas leak, has increased. A high incidence of fever, cough and cold, loose motions and acute respiratory problems was reported among the children who were born to the gas hit ladies in the post disaster period.

VITAL DRUG BEING DENIED TO BHOPAL GAS VICTIMS

from the Patriot

4/12/88. The one antidote that gave relief to 29,000 severely affected gas victims has not been administered to the rest of the estimated 60,000 acutely affected victims or to the mass of over 5 lakh people affected by the killer gases. Within a few days of the disaster the presence of deadly cyanide was found in blood samples of victims and doctors recommended the use of sodium thiosulphate injections. Most patients felt better, subsequently a Union Carbide specialist sent a fax recommending the use of sodium thiosulphate. But after some months, there were clear instructions from the MP administration directing medical institutions to stop sodium thiosulphate therapy.

RESEARCH ON MIC’S EFFECTS IS CRUCIAL FOR THE VICTIMS

from Times of India

5/12/88. The report stresses that for the thousands who are still suffering from the ill-effects of MIC any research findings that can be beneficial in devising a line of treatment must be the prime concern, as there seems to be overwhelming scientific evidence to suggest the multi-systemic involvement of MIC. They claim Union Carbide has remorselessly tried to underplay the toxic effects of MIC, saying that MIC was merely an eye and throat irritant, when it is now clear that they had access to the most comprehensive inhalation study of MIC to date much before the disaster.

1989

MIC MAY HAVE DAMAGED IMMUNE SYSTEMS

from Statesman

9/9/89. According to an immunologist’s research, some of those who survived the gas leak may have long-term damage to their immune systems, which could cause other health problems for the rest of their lives.

361 ABORTIONS, 22 STILLBORN, CARBIDE’S PARTING GIFT

from Patriot

18/9/89. Official surveys have confirmed that the lethal MIC gas had its most treacherous impact on pregnant mothers and their unborn children. Out of 2,245 women who were within three months of their pregnancy on the night of the gas disaster show that 361 women had abortions, 22 babies were born dead, 84 were premature births and 17 of the babies born alive had congenital defects.

BHOPAL OFFICIALS HINDERING DE-TOXIFYING PLAN

from Times of India

30/9/89. Doctors of a clinic run by voluntary organizations charged state government officials with trying to stop the collection of medical and chemical evidence of cyanide poisoning due to the gas leak. The doctors said in a statement that the officials were obstructing the clinic’s program of detoxifying the gas victims. The doctors appealed to the chief minister to take action against the officials who were not only adding to the suffering of the gas victims but also protecting Union Carbide.

1990

ILLNESS AFFLICTS MIC VICTIMS

from the Hindustan Times

30/1/90. According to a medical study, 70 – 80% of the gas affected population in the seriously affected areas and 40 – 50% in the mildly affected area suffer from medically diagnosed illnesses even five years after the MIC leak.

TOXIC WATER FOUND AROUND UCC PLANT

from Times of India

16/5/90. Several toxic chemicals and cancer-causing agents have been found in the water samples collected from around the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. This poses a serious risk to the people who continue to suffer and die of diseases related to their exposure to toxic gases that leaked from the plant.

UNENDING HELL FOR BHOPAL VICTIMS

from Patriot

21/11/90. Almost six years after the gas disaster life continues to be an unending purgatory for the victims. According to ICMR the tragedy continues to unfold through growing general morbidity, a rising incidence of lung, eye, gastro-intestinal, skin and neuro-psychological disorders, as well as high rates of involuntary abortions among pregnant women.

HOW KILLER MIC LIVES ON IN BHOPAL

from the Economic Times

25/11/90. Almost six years after the gas disaster survivors are still dying and the number of dead continues to go up. The deaths have been mainly due to respiratory causes. The toxicity of MIC and its long-term effects have largely issued a systemic character with several morbidities coexisting. The story explains how even the “simple injury” cases identified after the disaster are by no means simple any longer.

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#Bhopal33 | PM Modi and CM Chauhan: Are You Listening?

Having failed, despite repeated requests, to present their grievances before the Prime
Minister for the last three years and the Chief Minister for the last six years, survivors of
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needed attention to their five most urgent issues of rehabilitation, justice and adequate
compensation.

Help the survivors draw the attention of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

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